THE Uprising by Stepan (Stenka) Razin occurred between 1667 and 1671, in the region of the Volga and Don rivers, in the southwest of the Russia, raising a mass of peasants and Cossacks against the Tsarist Empire.
The revolt was led by Stenka Razin, grandson of the Cossack military chief Kornilo Yakovlev, and had to aim to free the peoples of the region from the domination that was being imposed by the central government of Moscow. The uprising took place in a context of intensifying tax collection and requisitioning soldiers from among the peasants under Tsar Alexander I during the wars against Poland and Sweden in the 1650s and 1660.
Prior to that, the Code of Law of 1649 had restricted peasants' freedom of movement by deepening the bonds of servitude maintained with the aristocratic nobles. The peasants' reaction was to migrate to the Volga and Don region, fleeing this serfdom. The reason would be the existence of an autonomous form of organization of life of the Cossacks in relation to the Russian Empire.
Razin's actions initially took place in the Caspian Sea and in the north of the Persian Empire, from 1667 onwards, and consisted of intercepting merchant caravans and plundering goods. Cities were also conquered, and the victories created a mystical aura around Razin's figure as a folk hero. Razin's support came from several sides, not being a social movement linked to ethnic and religious, as both Orthodox Christians and Muslims, Slavs or Cossacks, supported their pretensions.
In places occupied by the troops commanded by Razin, assemblies were adopted as forms of organization. Cossacks, which guaranteed greater popular participation in decisions than government structures tsarists. Razin's objective was to create a Cossack Republic in the region, reaching even to dominate several important cities, among them, Astrakhan and Samara. In his organization, there was even the participation of women as propagandists or even commanders, as was the case with Razin's mother.
From 1670 onwards, actions were directed mainly against the tsarist bureaucracy and the aristocratic nobility, with Razin's troops controlling 800 miles of the Volga River. Popular support for Stenka Razin was growing even in Moscow, prompting Tsar Alexander I to send large and well-armed troops to fight those commanded by the Cossack.
The fighting lasted until 1676, but the main battles took place between the years 1670 and 1671. Despite popular support and the stimulus for liberation that drove the combatants commanded by Razin, the force of armament of the tsarist troops was stronger. In April 1671, Stenka Razin and his brother Frolka were captured and sent to Moscow. In the capital of the Russian Empire, the two were tortured, and Razin was sentenced to execution by dismemberment. The repression in the towns and villages that were under the Cossacks was also harsh, with thousands of people being executed.
Razin's Revolt remained in the Russian social imagination for centuries as a symbol of resistance against the tyranny of the Czarist Empire. Stenka was the subject of many popular songs and famous poets such as Pushkin. Even after the Russian Revolution, Lenin dedicated a statue, on May 1, 1919, to the figure of the legendary popular fighter against the exploitation of the aristocracy. Even the great composer Dmitri Shostakovich composed a symphony in honor of Razin, called Stefan Razin's Execution, highlighting the importance of the Cossack rebel for Russian history.
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/acao-popular-na-revolta-stepan-razin.htm